


When things don't happen as they were planned

by WiseDragonGirl (Verhalengrot)



Series: Pokémon adventures in the Bansing family [6]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Abandonment, Difficult Decisions, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Drama, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Implied Sexual Content, Love, Original Pokemon Region, Original Pokemon Trainer - Freeform, Shinoh-chihou | Sinnoh, Single Parents, Teen Pregnancy, Teen Romance, Teenagers, Travel, teen drama, teen parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-07-19 06:18:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7348537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verhalengrot/pseuds/WiseDragonGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two trainers of sixteen and seventeen year old travel together through the Sinnoh region. Will they build up more than just their team and reputation as trainers?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sandgem Town

**Author's Note:**

> This is the continuation of my fanfiction 'Legends come in all shapes and sizes', but because the intended audiences are different I made two separate fanfictions for this story.
> 
> There will be a lot of time-jumps in the story, some people like that and some people don't, so I want to warn about it up front.

 

A girl with long, blonde hair checked herself in the mirror. She placed a baseball cap on her head and flung her long hair over her shoulders. An adult woman walked up to her with a backpack, followed closely by an adult man.

“Kimberly, I packed you lunch and some snacks,” she told the girl. “You should last until the next city with it. Daddy and I will make sure you’ll receive money for your travel the first of every month on your banking account.”

“Thanks mom!” Kimberly said as she turned to her mother. She took the backpack and gave her mother a big hug, after which she gave one to her father. “Bye, I’ll call you before I go to sleep.” Kimberly hoisted the backpack on her shoulders, gave her parents a final wave goodbye and left the house.

 Standing on the pavement in front of her house, Kimberly looked up with a happy face. The rays of the sun caressed her face and she smiled. Finally. Today, she would become a Pokémon trainer. She had turned sixteen just a day earlier and now she would start her adventure. And the thought of her adventure made her think about that boy she had met during her vacation on Rhando island two months ago. Michael. She had thought about him and his promise to come here today a lot and she was looking forward to meeting hem again.

 Filled with excitement over the all the adventures that awaited, Kimberly started running towards the lab of professor Rowan. Normally it would be a walk of ten minutes, but that seemed too long, she was anxious to get her new starter Pokémon and leave Sandgem Town.

When she reached the lab she held on to the wall and panted. After she took a moment to catch her breath, she looked around. No-one was waiting for her. She stood up straight and checked her watch, it was still ten minutes before two. Maybe he was running late? She waited for another ten minutes, growing more nervous as the seconds ticked away. Would he come or had he forgotten? Or had something else happened? She had told him he had to be here by two and he had promised to be here on time. So where was he? One minute past two. Kimberly bit her lip and disappointment showed, Michael hadn’t come. After a sigh she walked into the lab, her high spirit had vanished. Not only was she looking forward to become a Pokémon trainer, she wanted to travel with him.

 As she walked further into the lab she heard the voice of professor Rowan and another familiar voice. She picked up the pace and went into the main part of the lab, where she noticed the brown-haired boy from Rhando talking with the professor. The two didn’t even notice her, but the Cyndaquil in Michaels arms did and he started waving his paws at her. When that happened, Michael looked down at this Cyndaquil and then at Kimberly. He smiled at her, a smile that lit up his brown eyes.

“Kimberly,” he greeted her.

“Michael!" she exclaimed happily as she walked towards him. "I thought you wouldn’t come.”

Michael laughed a bit and rubbed the back of his neck. “I got here half an hour ago and when the professor saw me standing there he invited me in.”

“You never told me you were meeting with professor Bansings nephew,” Rowan said to Kimberly with a stern face.

“Uhm, sorry,” Kimberly muttered. “I didn’t think it mattered.”

“It doesn’t,” the professor said. “I was just surprised to see him.” He turned to Michael. “It was a nice chat, boy. A very interesting one. You will keep an eye on her, right?” he asked the question as he nodded his head towards Kimberly.

“Of course,” Michael said with a smile to Kimberly.

Professor Rowan nodded to Michael and then turned to Kimberly. “So, you will begin your journey as a trainer. Do you think you’re ready?”

“Yes Sir!” Kimberly said enthusiastically.

“Then come here and pick your starter,” the professor said as he gestured to three Pokéballs. “We have the fire-Pokémon Chimchar, the water-Pokémon Piplup and the grass-Pokémon Turtwig. Which one do you want?”

“Chimchar!” Kimberly said, almost jumping up and down from excitement. It was something she had decided long before this day had come.

The professor nodded and gave Kimberly her starter Pokémon, some Pokéballs and a Pokédex. After this he gave the two young people his best wishes and turned to his own work again.

 Together Michael and Kimberly left the lab and as soon as they were outside she called her Chimchar to meet her starter Pokémon for the first time. The timid Cyndaquil also greeted the fire-type. After a moment of looking at her starter, she looked at Michael and the smile she already had by seeing her starter grew even bigger.

“Are you ready?” she asked as she winded some of her hair around her finger.

“I am,” Michael said.

“Did you catch any more Pokémon since we met?” she asked as they started walking.

Michael nodded to the question and told her about the Growlithe he got from his father for his 17th birthday and the Fletchling he had caught back on Rhando. She smiled as she listened to him talk about the meeting with and the first catch of the Fletchling and what other things he had done in the time between the ferry that took Kimberly back to Sinnoh and their meeting in the lab.


	2. The travel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think everyone knows what it means to be a trainer. This fanfiction takes place in the world of Pokémon, but doesn’t revolve around catching Pokémon or Pokémon battles. This chapter will cover the first month of the travel in a summary kind of way so we can move on to the core of this fanfic in the next chapter.

Michael and Kimberly left Sandgem town behind them and followed the road to the next city where the first gym would be. They walked alongside of each other, with her Chimchar and his Cyndaquil following them and talking to each other. Kimberly was adamant about testing her new Chimchar’s strength and her ability as a trainer, she wanted to catch her first Pokémon.

A bit further down the road they could see a Starly hop around on the grass. Kimberly didn’t waste any time and pointed at her Chimchar. “You’re up, Champ!” she called enthusiastically. "Use your scratch!”

The Chimchar didn’t hesitate and scratched the unsuspecting Starly.

The Starly retaliated with a tackle of her own.

“Come on, Champ!” Kimberly said as she hopped from one leg to the other, “Leer!”

The Chimchar nodded and glared intensely at the Starly, who seemed to back away a bit.

“Scratch again!” Kimberly called and the Chimchar did as he was told. While this was happening, Michael stood back with his arms crossed in front of his chest and he watched the battle with his Cyndaquil sitting at his feet.

After receiving another scratch, the Starly wanted to flee. She started beating her wings and lift of in the sky.

“Oh no. No, no, no,” Kimberly said. “Chimchar! Do something! Don’t let it leave!”

The Chimchar quickly climbed up a tree and jumped from branch to branch. From the ground Kimberly started running, closely followed by Michael and his Cyndaquil. When the Chimchar caught op with the Starly, he jumped out of the tree, grabbed the bird and together they tumbled to the ground. The Starly shook the dirt of her feathers and used her growl against the Chimchar.

“Come on! Another scratch!” Kimberly said, panting slightly from running after them. The Chimchar nodded and scratched the Starly again. That was when Kimberly threw her Pokéball at the Starly. As the Pokéball hit, it opened and pulled the Starly inside. The red-and-white ball lay in the grass, rocking back and forth. The light on the button blinked as long as the Pokéball moved, but it came to a rest soon after. “Yes!” she exclaimed and she jumped in the air.

“Well done,” Michael said with a smile and he walked up to her.

Kimberly turned to Michael and hugged him tightly. “I caught it! I did it! I’ll be a great trainer!”

Michael couldn’t do anything other then smile when he got hugged like that.

 

 That night they made their first camp, each set up their own tent and they shared a meal over a simple campfire. Michael let his Growlite and Fletchling out of their Pokéballs and introduced them. The Growlithe he had called Saruya and the Fletchling was named Anthony. The Fletchling sat proudly on his shoulder as his name was mentioned and the Growlithe sat next to him. His Cyndaquil sat at his feet, happily munching on an apple Michael had given him. Both the Chimchar and Starly of Kimberly sat at the fire as well and ate from the food she had given them. 

 This was the first of many nights to come. During the first month of the travel, Kimberly and Michael fell in love and it didn’t take long before they didn’t set up two tents anymore, but shared just one.

 While Michael had no real desire to compete in the League, Kimberly had her mind set completely on that. She wanted to be one of the best trainers of her time and she took training for it seriously. As they travelled from town to town, they both fought in the gyms and caught more Pokémon. Kimberly added a Cherubi, a Bidoof, a Pachirisu and a Buizel to her team. Michael also caught another Pokémon, a Riolu which he called Raoul. Along the way Michael Fletchling evolved into a Fletchinder and Kimberly’s Chimchar and Starly each evolved too. 


	3. The test

Kimberly stood in front of the counter in a pharmacy. She looked at the two small, rectangular cardboard boxes and sighed as she put some money on the counter. After accepting the change, she muttered a thanks and put them in her backpack. After another sigh she left the pharmacy, but she managed to put a smile on her face when she noticed Michael, who stood under a tree with his Fletchinder on the arm, which he held out by putting his hand at his side. His Cyndaquil played tag with his Riolu and Growlithe. Her Pokémon were all in their Pokéballs and she knew Michael would return his when they would start to travel again. Unlike herself he only caught two Pokémon so far and one of them even before he came to this region. And for some reason the Cyndaquil hadn’t evolved yet, even though she knew the Cyndaquil was with him for a couple of years now and had done several battles since they came here.

“Did you find some medicine for your stomach?” he asked her when he noticed Kimberly walking up to him.

“I did,” she said. “I’m certain it will deal with the nausea just fine.”

Since a couple of days she had been feeling nauseous in the morning and on top of that her period hadn’t started when it was supposed too. They had been sleeping in the same tent for a while now and they had slept together. The possible reason for both her problems wasn’t difficult to come up with and she hoped she would know for sure the next morning.

 They stayed at a Pokémon Center overnight, sharing a room as always. The next morning Kimberly went into the bathroom while Michael was still sleeping and unpacked the bought pregnancy test. She didn’t want to tell him and make him worry before she knew anything for sure. After reading the instructions carefully, she did the test as she was supposed to and waited for the result. And when that finally came, she covered her eyes with a free hand. Pregnant. She really was pregnant. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there when she heard a knock on the door and Michael’s voice asking if everything was okay. She took in a deep breath and opened the door of the bathroom.

“You tell me,” she said as she showed him the test.

Michael blinked and took the test from her hand. He looked at it for a moment, before he looked up at her. “Is this what I think it is?” he asked her.

“Pregnant, Michael. I’m pregnant,” she said to him. “What now?” Tears formed in her eyes as she asked the question. “What do we do?”

Michael just stared at her.

“Say something!”

“Uhm...” Michael began. “I, uhm...”

“You can try to be a bit more helpful!” she shouted as the tears ran down her face. “You are responsible for this!”

Michael reached out to touch her hair. “We both are,” he corrected her with a compassionate look in his eyes. He came closer and took Kimberly in an embrace. She cried silently on his shoulder and he stroke her hair until she calmed down.

Kimberly finally freed herself from his embrace and looked at him. What he had said was true, she was as responsible too. She loved Michael and enjoyed his company without thinking about the consequences. She went to one of the chairs and sat down. “What do we do?” she asked again. “I had plans, Michael. I had dreams.” She played nervously with her fingers. “I’m not ready to be a mother,” she added. She wrapped her arms around her belly and shook her head. “I want to be a trainer,” she whispered. “I want to be the best trainer of the world.” She closed her eyes for a moment before she looked up at Michael again. “I can’t do that pregnant or with an infant. This will change everything. All the plans I had. All my dreams...”

“It happened,” Michael said as he walked towards Kimberly. “There’s not much we can do about it now.” He took the other chair and pulled it closer so he could sit next to her. “I’m not ready to be a parent either,” he said to her as he gently reached out to touch her arm so he could offer some comfort, “but it happened and maybe we just have to try to make the best of it. I’m sure we can do it.”

Kimberly looked down at her hands as she played with her fingers. “Maybe,” she began with a soft voice “Maybe... maybe we can... remove it?” She glanced up briefly before she looked down at her hands again. “I mean, you’re not ready and I’m not ready and at this stage it’s not a real child yet, right?”

Michael didn’t respond at first and he remained silent until Kimberly looked up again. His brown eyes had a sad look in them. “Doesn’t it mean anything that it’s my child?” he asked her.

Now it was Kimberly who remained silent.

“I love you,” Michael continued. “Even if it’s just a cluster of cells now, it was created out of love and it will grow into our child. I... I would love to meet it one day... and start a family with you.” He noticed how Kimberly stared at him. "I can't help it, I love you. And, well, obviously I didn't plan on having a child this early in my life, but... I don't want to lose it. I'm certain we can do this."

“But how can we focus on training our Pokémon and compete in battles like this?!” Kimberly exclaimed as she got up from her chair again. She paced back and forth in the small bedroom and Michael followed her with his eyes. He thought about his small team, while he enjoyed the travel and an occasional battle, he wasn’t working on becoming the best trainer ever. He just wanted to learn about Pokémon and be close to Kimberly. He knew it wasn’t like that for her, she really wanted to be a top-class trainer and win the official Pokémon Leagues. “Do I have to give up everything already?!” she continued.

“No, you don’t,” Michael said with a calm sound in his voice. That made Kimberly stop pacing and turn her attention to him. “Back on Rhando island, there is an academy. If you can’t travel anymore, we can go there. We can learn about the world of Pokémon and train our Pokémon, but in a safe environment and with a hospital nearby.”

Kimberly looked at him in silence and cast her eyes down a moment later. “I suppose you’re right,” she muttered. “Maybe we can do that.”

"And if the baby is born and old enough to travel with us, we can be on our way to see the world again."

"That... that could work." She looked at Michael with moist eyes. "You'll stay with me, right? You won't let me do this all by myself?"

Michael got up from his chair now and went over to Kimberly. "Of course not," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and she lay her head on his shoulder. “It will work out just fine,” he promised her. “You’ll see.”

"I love you, Michael," Kimberly whispered. 

 "I love you to."


	4. The Rhando Academy

Kimberly told her parents about the pregnancy over the videophone, it was a long and emotional conversation in which they showed anger, which turned into worry. They asked Kimberly to come home, but she refused and continued her journey through Sinnoh.

She managed to compete in the Sinnoh League and even with her training and Michael’s support she got just barely in the top ten. Ninth place in her first league, she was disappointed by her place, even if Michael assured her that was good for a first league. There were plenty of trainers who hadn’t made the top ten after all.

The day after the league Michael and Kimberly sat together on a bench in the park and Michael looked at her belly. It was growing steadily and he knew it became harder for her to travel, but she didn’t seem willing to stop.

“You competed in the Sinnoh League,” he mentioned as he looked at her.

Kimberly nodded as she took a bite from the warm waffle they had bought earlier. 

“What do you want to do now?”

“Try other League’s,” she told him.

“Kimberly...” he began carefully, “maybe it’s time to...slow things down?”

“You’re just as annoying as my parents!” Kimberly exclaimed. “I feel fine, I can travel for a while longer.”

“And then what? What if the baby is born half-way during the travel in the next region?” he asked. “We can take a break, go to the academy and continue to travel when we can again.”

“And when will that be?!”

Michael couldn’t answer, he didn’t know. He looked at the defiant expression from Kimberly,  demanding an answer. “Maybe you should think about the child,” he tried carefully, but by the looks of it that wasn’t the right answer. He sighed and tried to do it differently. “Taking a break now doesn’t mean you have to stop,” he told her. “You can still become the best trainer ever, it will just take a little while longer. And there is a League on the Rorie-islands too, maybe you can focus on that one now. Does it matter what the next League is? We can study for a bit on the academy and compete in the Rorie League.”

Kimberly seemed to give the idea some thought, she played with her hair as she looked ahead and with her other hand she stroke her belly. “The Rorie League?” she asked as she looked at Michael. “Is that like the Sinnoh one?”

He shook his head. “From what I’ve heard, it’s different. There are only four gyms you have to beat, the types are ground, water, fire and flying, but in the League itself you can only use those types.”

“You can’t use other types?”

“Well, dual types are allowed, but basically, yeah. The Pokémon have to be of those types.”

“That’s...intriguing,” Kimberly muttered. “And it’s not that big, right? The Rorie-islands, it’s not...”

“It’s not like Sinnoh where you have to travel from town to town. The gyms are mostly located in or near the port towns and you go with a ferry from island to island. Travel-wise it’s definitely easier than travelling through a region.”

Kimberly looked at Michael and for the first time since her defeat in the League she smiled at him. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s do it. Let’s go check out the academy and the League on your island.”

Michael smiled too and he took her hand. “Let’s do that.”

 

They travelled back to Sandgem Town with a bus, so Kimberly could meet up with her parents and inform them about their plans. They expressed their concern and wanted her to stay at home, with them, but Kimberly was adamant she wouldn’t let this pregnancy hold her back. And she assured them the Rhando Academy was run by skilful people and with a well-supplied infirmary, in case she needed one. And the island had a hospital too. Of course she’d keep them updated on the due time, so they could be there when the child was born, but she wanted to go. So they left.

After saying goodbye to her parents, Michael and Kimberly travelled back to Rhando Island with a ferry. The travel over water took a few days and it were happy and calm days. There was no pressure of a Pokémon League, there were no battles that had to be done. They could just enjoy each others and their Pokémons company. Kimberly felt at ease and often looked out over the sea with a smile, she loved this way of travelling, where the wind moved through her hair and the endless horizons held promises of yet to be discovered adventures.

When the ferry finally docked at Mesperit City on Rhando Island, they disembarked and Kimberly looked around. It was just as she remembered from her vacation here, when she had met Michael for the first time. She looked to him with a smile, a smile he returned, and she stroke her belly. She was glad she had decided to keep it, she too looked forward to meet the baby that grew inside her, Michael's child. She heard someone call Michael's name and looked up, two men walked over to them, one had short, brown hair. The other had blond hair long enough to keep in a ponytail. Michael whispered to her that they were his father and uncle, his father being the one with the brown hair. They too knew about Kimberly’s pregnancy, Michael had called his parents to tell them what happened the same day Kimberly had done the test.

While Michael and his father caught up, Andy walked over to Kimberly and put a hand on her shoulder. “You made a good decision,” he told her. “The academy is a great place to learn about Pokémon, work on your battle tactics and still be close to medical care.”

Kimberly shrugged to that as she winded a strand of her blonde hair around her finger, it wasn’t her first decision, but it was better than staying at home with her parents.

“You can stay in the same room there,” he added and he looked towards Michael with a grin. “It’s not like you can get any more pregnant than you already are.”

Kimberly stared at Andy, not sure about how to respond to that, but Michael’s groan caught her attention and she looked at him as he turned to his uncle.

“Have you waited all this time to finally be able to make a comment about what happened?” he asked him with a hint of irritation in his voice.

“Can you imagine the agony of waiting this long?!” Andy retaliated.

The look Michael had on his face, the chuckle coming from his father and the grin of his uncle made Kimberly giggle, this family seemed a lot closer to each other than she was with her parents. A sudden feeling of relief came over her. Maybe coming here really was a good decision. 

 Andy brought them with his car to the Academy, a big, red-brick building just outside Lilan Town, the town where he lived and worked. Michael himself lived in Mesperit city, but that was only a twenty-minute drive from Lilan Town. Michael looked at Kimberly, he was excited about being here and by the looks of it, she was too. He looked back at the Rhando Academy. This would be a great experience, he would study and battle here, with his girlfriend and soon he’d have a child too. Even if he was young, he looked forward to that moment more and more.


	5. A daughter

Michael and Kimberly took their stay at the Rhando Academy serious and while they enjoyed each other company they both went their own way. While Kimberly devoted her time to Pokémon Training, Tactic and Pokémon Battles, Michael took courses like History, Myths and Legends and Pokémon and Human co-existence. Michael wanted to become a Pokémon Archaeologist, like his father was, but he too devoted some time in training his Pokémon. During one of the battles in the academy his Riolu evolved into a Lucario. And Michael evolved his Growlithe, he had talked about it with her and she had let him known she was ready for it. The fire stone needed for that had also been a gift on his 17th birthday, one he had got from his uncle. Even though he had carried the fire stone with him since then, he hadn’t considered using it until it seemed his Growlithe was ready for it.

During the evenings they talked about what they had learned and about their future. Michael showed her around on the Rorie Islands too and he showed her where every gym was. When they visited the volcanic island Resto, the third island in the group, they both caught a new Pokémon: Kimberly caught a Slugma and Michael managed to catch a Volcarona which he called Linda.

 Kimberly’s belly grew steadily and she often smiled when she touched it. Michael was glad to see she too looked forward to meet the baby. He knew it would be hard to raise a child, but at the same time he was certain they’d be able to do it.

Time passed and one day, during a walk, Kimberly suddenly gasped and cringed. A contraction. The baby would soon be born.

When the contractions were only five minutes apart they went to the hospital. It was there where her water broke and soon she went into labour. A couple of agonizing and laborious hours later she held a small baby in her arms, a daughter. She gave the baby to Michael who looked at his daughter with a tender smile. Just one look at her and he knew he would love her for the rest of his life. There were no words to describe it, he just looked at her and smiled and his world felt complete.

After a couple of days in the hospital, where Kimberly’s parents, Michael’s parents and Michael’s uncle all came to visit the baby, they returned to the academy where they lived in one of the many dorms. The fact they had a child now didn’t matter, baby Pokémon were allowed to go to classes with their trainers, so human babies were allowed too. Granted, this was the first case of a human baby and there was some debate, but when the principal decided that if a trainer could bring a Pokémon fresh from the egg to the academy, a trainer could bring a newborn child too.

For the first month Kimberly didn’t participate in many classes, not only did she have a baby to feed and take care of, she needed the time to recover from the pregnancy and delivering the child.  

 One day, after lunch, Michael and Kimberly walked through the academy. They talked about the previous day when they had gone to the port in Mesperit City to say goodbye to Michael’s parents, who would go on month-long trip to the Kanto region. Michael’s father would meet up with another archaeologist at Mount Moon and his wife would accompany him.

“Michael,” Kimberly said as she gently rocked the baby back and forth in her arms. “You should go to your class.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to feed Sharon and then take a nap with her.”

Michael gently rubbed Kimberly’s back as he smiled at her. “Okay. I’ll have a moment between classes, so I’ll come check on you.”

Kimberly smiled at him, nodded and started going towards the dorms. Michael watched her leave for a moment before he started walking to the classroom he had to be.

After an hour of listening to a teacher explain about the Unowns, Michael walked back to the dorm. He took every moment he could to spend with his girlfriend and daughter. He opened and closed the door silently so he wouldn’t wake them up and walked over to the bed with a smile. The smile quickly faded and he felt his heart sink when he only saw his sleeping daughter and a letter on the bed. He quickly looked around in the room before he reached out and took the letter. He didn’t want to read it, but he knew he had to. He took in a deep breath and opened it.

 

_Dear Michael,_

_By the time you read this I’m on my way to the ferry and hopefully already on it. I can’t do it, I’m sorry. I can’t be a mother. You probably won’t understand and try to talk it out of my head, so I wrote it in a letter instead. I want to become the best trainer of the world, a true Pokémon Master. I can’t do that with a baby. I’m too young to be tied down in a family like this. I’m not like you, Michael. I need to travel, experience the world and learn about Pokémon in real life. This academy doesn’t work for me. And while I love Sharon, taking care of her is too hard and I have to give up things I don’t want to give up. I know you will take good care of her. I hope you can forgive me for this. Know that I love you and I love our daughter. I just can’t live like this._

_Kimberly._

 

Michael sank down on the bed as he stared at the letters. Did she really abandon him? Why? Things were going great, right? They were happy together. He closed his eyes. Weren't they happy together? Hadn't they talked about travelling again when Sharon was older? She had agreed! He opened his eyes to read the letter again, hoping he misread some parts of it. The hand that held the letter trembled and he lowered it. There had been no sign she was planning on doing this, he thought she was happy here with him. His chest moved up and down as he took deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. He looked at his daughter, his peacefully sleeping Sharon, he was alone with her now. Seventeen and he had a baby to look after, all by himself. He covered his face with both hands and he breathed heavily though his nose, trying not to break down where he sat. “This can’t be happening,” he whispered to himself. “Oh Kimberly, how am I supposed to do this by myself?” His mind raced and he was on the verge of panic when he heard Sharon cry. He looked at the one month old child and he gently picked her up. He cradled her in his arms and looked down at her. “We’ll... we’ll make it somehow,” he said to her. “I promise.”

The first thing he did was call his uncle, there wasn’t anyone else on the island he could turn to. It didn’t take his uncle more than ten minutes to stand in the room next to him. Michael decided he wouldn’t ask if professor Maple knew he left the research facility or how fast he had driven to get here. He was just glad his uncle stood there and he told him that Kimberly had left him.

“We can go to Mersperit City,” Andy said as he sat down next to his nephew, “but the ferry won’t be there when we arrive. I hate to say it, but she planned it well.”

Michael nodded with his eyes cast to the ground, he held on to Sharon as if she was the only thing he had left. And maybe she was. “What do I do?” he whispered. “I can’t do this by myself.”

“You won’t have to.”

Michael looked up when his uncle spoke those words. “I won’t?” he whispered.

“Of course not. Do you really think I’d leave you alone with this? No, move out of this dorm and move in with me in Lilan Town. You can still attend the Academy and I’ll be around to help. We have Kim, I mean, I know she’s a Furret, but I’m sure she can help take care of Sharon. And when your parents are back your mother can help, but until then the two of you can stay at my place.”

“Really?” Michael whispered.

Andy placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Really. I still have vacation days I need to take and I can switch to evening work and weekend work, then you can continue your classes and you’ll have me and Kim to look after your daughter when you go to the Academy.”

“Thank you,” Michael said as he embraced his daughter. “I... I...” he closed his eyes as tears started to form. “I never expected she would do this,” he began as his shoulders started to jerk. “I know she didn’t want the baby at first, but I didn’t think she would just abandon us like that. We talked about our future, she didn’t say she wanted to leave now. S-she did say she wanted to travel again, but I asked her to wait until Sharon was a little older to make travelling around a little more easy for us and she agreed!” He shook his head and he tried to stop himself from crying. "I love her. Why couldn’t she wait a little longer. It wouldn’t have been more than a year, I told her that.” He couldn’t help it, he didn’t want to, but he cried. The girl he loved deeply abandoned him and left him with the care of their daughter. How would he be able to raise her by himself? At least he still had her daughter. He held his daughter in a close embrace, he couldn’t imagine how his world would have crushed if she’d have walked out of him with Sharon. At least he still had Sharon.

“I know,” Andy said as he pulled his nephew closer to him. “You’ll get through this. The next few days will be hard, but you’ll get through this.”

“Do you think she’ll come back to us?”

“Did she say why she left?” Andy asked in return. He noticed the letter Michael held out to him and he took it to read it. “I see,” he said in the end. “Michael... you might see her again, but I don’t think that will be for anytime soon. I don’t want to sound harsh, but...” He looked at the letter again. “She loves you and she loves Sharon, but she doesn’t love you enough to stay with you. She loves her dream more.”

Michael nodded weakly.

“Come. I’ll collect your things, you’re coming home with me.”

Again Michael nodded and he watched how his uncle started to pack his clothes and books and all the little items they had brought to this room. He wasn’t sure yet how he would do it, raise the child by himself, but he would.


	6. Adjusting to a new life

As his uncle had suggested, Michael moved to his house in Lilan Town. They put Sharon’s crib with wooden bars in the guest room where Michael would sleep and a changing table in the living room. It didn’t take long before the living room showed all the evidence a baby lived in the house. A colourful playing blanket lay close to the radiator and the window, where sunlight would shine through most of the afternoon. A couple of colourful and soft toys lay on the ground. A yellow playpen with gauze walls stood in a corner and had a little mobile attached to it, with little Butterfree and Vivillon dangling above the baby.

Michael sat at a round table with two books open in front of him and he wrote down a few things on paper after reading one of the pages. Sharon’s naptime was when he could study or do something else for himself. Right now she still slept a lot, but that would gradually get less. He stared ahead and after a moment he looked at the sleeping baby. He noticed how Kim, his uncle’s Furret, silently walked into the room to check up on Sharon. She glanced over to him and smiled. Michael smiled back and got up from the chair to take a small break, deciding to get a glass of water in the kitchen.

Sounds from the backyard drifted into the kitchen through the open window and he walked over to see what was going on.

His Lucario and his uncle’s Primeape were training, both seemed to enjoy the presence of another fighting type. He noticed his Cyndaquil and Arcanine lying in the shade of a tree and the Volcarona flew around in the garden leisurely. The only two missing were his uncle’s Butterfree and Noctowl, but those two were with him at the lab where he worked.

So far their system worked, if he had class his uncle made sure he was at home. He’d either work from home or work at the lab from the late afternoon until the evening. He had persuaded professor Maple, the head of the lab and the Pokémon professor responsible for aiding the new trainers on the Rorie islands, to allow him more flexible work hours.

When he heard a sound coming from the living room he went back and walked over to the playpen. With a smile he bend over it and picked up the small baby. She moved her arms around and looked up at him. He knew he’d do anything for her, but he also knew it wouldn’t be easy.

~

The front door opened and Andy entered the house. He walked into the living room and noticed his nephew and grandniece. “Ah, she’s awake,” he said with a smile.

“Where are Benny and Merlin?”

“In the garden, they heard something and went to check it.”

“Probably Raoul and Bear,” Michael said. “They’re sparring.”

Andy chuckled a bit. “Bear is elated to have you guys here.”

Michael nodded and looked down at the small baby in his arms. “Uncle…” he began.

“Yes?”

“What should I do?”

“About?”

Michael looked down at his daughter again. “I can’t… I can’t be a Pokémon Archaeologist with her.”

“It’s what you always wanted to be,” Andy commented with a frown. He walked over to the sofa and sat down. With a gesture he invited Michael to sit with him. “It’s what you’re studying for.”

“Yes but… I can’t go on excavations. That is the main part of being an archaeologist. Who will look after her when I’m gone for who knows how long?” Michael looked down at Sharon, who looked around with her big, blue eyes and folded her tiny fingers around his finger when he touched her hand with it. “I know how long my father was away sometimes, I can’t do that to her.”

Andy looked at his nephew for a moment. “I commend you for thinking about her first, but I don’t think you have to give up your dream.” He noticed Michael looked up at him in surprise. “Just wait a few years. Finish your education, then you can see if you can find work on the island and when she’d old enough to travel, opt for home-schooling and take her with you.”

“But, right now you provide for both me and Sharon…isn’t it better if I find a job instead and take care of her myself?”

“Nonsense,” Andy stated firmly. “I have enough money, I can take care of the both of you.” He tapped his nephew on the knee. “Just focus on your study for now, okay? Maybe you can talk it over with your father, they’ll be back in a couple of weeks at most. Although I suggest you stay here, it’s closer to the academy.”

“I, uhm, I suppose I can at least get my certificate first…” Michael muttered.

Sharon started sucking on her hand and Michael looked at it. He smiled at her. “Getting hungry, princess? Let’s get you some of that Moomoo milk baby formula then.” He got up with her in his arms, but seemed to reconsider something and held her out to Andy. “Can you hold her for a moment? I’ll go get her bottle.”

~

After the bottle and a burp Michael put Sharon down on the playing blanket as Michael’s Arcanine came into the room. She looked at the baby and lay down next to her on the blanket. The baby looked at her and moved her hands, touching her soft fur.

Michael walked over to the Pokémon and knelt down in front of her. He took her face with both hands. “You’ll help me look after Sharon, right Saruya?”

The Arcanine nodded.

“Thank you,” Michael whispered as he cuddled her. After that he got up to finish reading the chapter he was supposed to read before the next class. He was grateful his uncle looked after him, he had no idea how he would have done this without his help. He probably would have found a way, but it would have been much harder, there was no doubt about that.


	7. An unexpected visitor

As his uncle had suggested, Michael finished his studies. Instead of going for Pokémon Archaeologist, like his father, he settled for becoming a historian, an expert of the lore’s and legends of the Pokémon World. He would have much rather become an archaeologist, but being a single parent he couldn’t do that to his daughter.

He finished his study at the Rhando Pokémon Academy while taking care of his daughter and living with his uncle. It was a good time, he witnessed his daughters first steps, first words. He played with her and helped her develop her skills.

By the time he graduated four years had passed and while it hadn’t always been easy, he had enjoyed those years. His daughter went to kindergarten and he found a place to live in Mesperit City. During that time he thought about Kimberly a lot, he couldn’t forget her and the pain of her leaving still lingered.

 

One evening Michael sat in the living room of his house, reading a book. While he hadn’t become what he really wanted to be, he was happy with his life. His Cyndaquil slept on a blanket and his Arcanine lay on the ground as she watched Sharon draw.

The doorbell rang and Michael got up to open the door. At first he couldn’t do anything but stare at the young woman on his doorstep. Her blonde hair was shorter, but he recognized her instantly. “Kimberly…” he whispered.

“Hey there, Michael,” Kimberly said. “Can I come in?”

“Uhm, s-sure,” Michael stuttered as he stepped aside. “Please, come in. You look great…”

“Thank you,” Kimberly replied cheerfully as she entered the house.

Michael closed the door behind her and walked with her to the living room. The moment Saruya noticed Kimberly she let out a soft growl, the Arcanine recalled all too well how this woman had abandoned her trainer and broke his heart.

“What brings you here?” Michael hesitantly asked.

“Sharon of course.” Kimberly looked at the young girl who looked up at her. “You’ve had her for four years. She’s old enough to travel now, so she can come with me.”

Saruya moved closer to Sharon to protect her.

“You can’t take her away from me,” Michael whispered. “You can’t do that to me.”

“Why not? I’m her mother! I gave birth to her!”

The sadness that had surfaced changed into anger. “And not once in four years did you visit her!" Michael exclaimed. "What makes you think you can disappear for four years and then just walk in and take away my daughter?!”

“Our daughter!”

“You abandoned our daughter and you abandoned me! I took care of her! I gave up on my choice of career for her! You didn’t, you went on to be the Pokémon Trainer you wanted to be without us. You have no right to walk in and take her away from me!” Michael looked at Kimbery as he tried his best to keep his emotions under control, there were so many of them all battling to take control. Anger, sadness, fear. He felt it all at once. “If you will take her with you,” he continued with a softer voice. “I will have nothing left. I love her, Kimberly. She’s my world.”

“And what about me?" Kimberly asked as she put her hand on her chest. "I’ve lived without her all that time!”

Michael looked at Kimberly with a sad look in his eyes. “That was your own choice. We were here all the time. You could have come, you could have called, you could have e-mailed. You didn’t. You never asked how Sharon was doing, you never send us a message in which you told us you thought about us or missed us. Nothing. And suddenly you are here to take her away from me? She’s all I have.”

Kimberly looked at Michael for a moment, before she turned to Sharon. “You know who I am, right?”

Sharon nodded. “You’re mommy,” she said. “Daddy showed pictures, he told me how pretty you were and that you are a great Pokémon trainer.”

“And you can be one too,” Kimberly told her with a kind smile. “Don’t you want to go with mommy and see the world?”

Sharon quickly shook her head.

“What do you mean?”

“I want to stay with daddy,” she whispered.

“But…”

Sharon wrapped her arms around the Arcanine that lay down next to her. “I want to stay here, with daddy,” Sharon repeated. “I don’t want to leave.”

“But you are my daughter.”

Michael looked at Sharon. “She could have been if you had come. She doesn’t know you, what did you expect she’d say?”

Kimberly looked at Michael, for the first time there was grief in her eyes. “But…”

“Stay with us,” he said. “Live with us. She’s your daughter, you have the right to spend time with her, but you can’t take her with you if she doesn’t want to.”

“You just say that because her decision works in your favour!” she snapped. “You would have reacted differently if she’d decide to come with me!”

“Of course I would protest if she’d say she’d want to go with you! She’s too young for such a travel and I don’t want to lose her! I already lost you and it broke my heart, losing her will hurt so much more.”

Kimberly looked at him with a more gentle expression now. “You can come with us too. It will be just like old times.”

“Or you can stay here.”

They looked at each other while Sharon held on to Saruya.

“You’re so boring, Michael,” Kimberly sighed. “Where is your sense of adventure?”

“The little I had when I met you,” he began as he looked at his daughter, “was replaced with responsibility when I became a father.” He crouched down in front of his daughter. “Do you want to travel around the world with mommy and daddy?” he asked her.

“You would come to?” Sharon asked.

“Of course, I wouldn’t leave you.”

“And if I want to stay here, with you and grandma and grandpa and uncle Andy and all my friends at school?”

“Then we stay here.”

She looked at Kimberly. “I… I want to stay here, mommy. I want to stay home.”

Kimberly looked from Sharon to Michael, who had risen to his feet again. “So that’s it?” she asked.

“You can stay here.”

“On a small island like this?” Kimberly smiled a bit. “That’s no life for me. I need to travel, I need adventure.”

“I know…” Michael muttered. “It’s why you left the first time too. Will you leave again?”

For the first time Kimberly seemed in doubt. “You’d take me back?”

“In those four years I never loved another girl.” Michael had a kind smile for her. “But I fear you won’t stay.”

Kimberly didn’t reply to that.

“Will you stay, mommy?” Sharon asked.

“I… actually made plans,” she said. “I met a trainer and we’re going to explore mount Moon together.”

Michael closed his eyes, he knew where this was going. Of course she had moved on. “It won’t be with Sharon,” was all he said. “I’m sorry, Kimberly. You’re free to come and visit as often as you want, but I can’t let you take her with you.”

Kimberly looked at Michael, for a moment it looked like she wanted to protest, but she let her shoulders hang and nodded. “Maybe it’s for the best this way. I will…” she looked at Sharon. “I’ll stay a couple of days, spend some time with her. Can I do that?”

“Of course,” Michael whispered. “Stay as long as you like.”

 

In the end Kimberly stayed a week, a week in which she spend time with her daughter. After the week she promised she’d stay in touch and come to visit her. She gave Michael a kiss on the cheek, telling him he was a great guy and how lucky she was to have met him. And how lucky Sharon was with a great father like him. She left again to travel and explore, leaving her daughter with Michael.

 

Maybe it wasn’t the life Michael had thought he would have, being a father at such a young age, but he wouldn’t have traded it for anything. He loved his daughter and he loved having her in his life. Maybe he hadn’t become an archaeologist, but working as an expert on Pokémon legends, being a historian, turned out to be an enjoyable career. He loved reading and digging through history with books.

He watched how his daughter played with his Pokémon with his faithful Cyndaquil by his side.

Looking back, it wasn’t as he had planned and it hadn’t been easy, but he was happy with his life and how it had turned out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic might continue one day with the adventures of Sharon. Events from this fanfic might cross over to one of Andy's amazing adventures. Since Michael stays with him for a while it's certainly possible Andy has some adventures of his own during this time.  
> But the fanfic as it is will stop here, at least for now. I don't have any real plans for the continuation at the moments.

**Author's Note:**

> The Pokémon belong to the creator(s) of Pokémon, the original trainers belong to me. Rhando Island, the home of my original trainers and part of the Rorie-islands, is an original location and belongs to me.


End file.
